EP 1 401 685 B1 has already disclosed a method for limiting the damage in the case of a partially overlapping frontal collision and a motor vehicle with an apparatus which serves for this purpose.
A partially overlapping frontal collision is to be understood to mean a frontal collision, in which the vehicles move toward one another with direction vectors which are substantially parallel but offset laterally with respect to one another. The collision zone is therefore only one lateral part of the front section.
In the vehicle which is known from EP 1 401 685 B1, pivoting inward of the front wheels is caused in the case of a partially overlapping frontal collision of two motor vehicles, with the result that the outer side of the rim acts as a protective shield, on which the other vehicle or its collision-side wheel slides.
It is an object of the invention to provide measures for deforming and destroying a front wheel of a motor vehicle which moves in the direction of the passenger cell as the result of an impact.
A motor vehicle according to the invention has a vehicle body which forms a passenger cell. A front section is provided in front of the passenger cell, on which front section two wheel arches are configured. In each case, one front wheel is arranged such that it can be steered in the respective wheel arch having a front wall which delimits the passenger cell to the front toward the front section, the front wall being delimited laterally in each case by a front vehicle body pillar, in each case the front end of a sill being configured at one lower end of the respective front vehicle body pillar, each respective sill running toward the rear in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body to a respective rear wheel arch, each respective sill forming a respective hollow profile, and at least one reinforcement profile being arranged in a cavity of each respective hollow profile.
The reinforcement profile which is arranged in the cavity is advantageously provided with at least one additional reinforcement profile. The arrangement, the shape, the length, the material and/or the connection of the reinforcement profiles are/is designed in such a way that, in the case of correspondingly high impact energy of the respective wheel on the respective front end of the respective sill, the front faces of the reinforcement profiles destroy the wheel with the associated components.
The respectively present additional reinforcement profile extends advantageously from a front end of the sill over a predefined length. The respective originally present reinforcement profile is connected to the respective additional reinforcement profile. The respective reinforcement profile in each case has at least one front face at its respective front end at the level of the front end of the sill.
In one advantageous embodiment, the reinforcement profile to be reinforced which is arranged in the cavity of the sill has a hat-shaped cross section.
The respective additional reinforcement profile advantageously has a U-shaped cross section.
In one advantageous embodiment, the respective additional reinforcement profile forms a closed profile with the reinforcement profile which is already present.
The respective additional reinforcement profile is advantageously connected via side wall sections at the approximately horizontally lying longitudinal side walls of the reinforcement profile which is already present, which longitudinal side walls extend in the vehicle transverse direction.
A closed multiple-chamber profile with three closed chambers or profiles results in the cavity of the sill as a result of the arrangement of the two reinforcement profiles.
In addition to the U-shaped reinforcement profile which is arranged on the inner faces of the reinforcement profile which is to be reinforced, at least one further reinforcement profile is advantageously provided, the further reinforcement profile forming an extension in the downward and/or upward direction of a longitudinal side wall of the reinforcement profile, which longitudinal side wall lies in the perpendicular plane, such that the result is at least one multiple-chamber profile with at least four closed chambers.
In one advantageous embodiment, the material of the sill is a metal or a non-metallic material such as fiber-reinforced plastic. The material of the reinforcement profile to be reinforced is advantageously a metal or a non-metallic material such as a fiber-reinforced plastic. In one advantageous embodiment, the material of the first reinforcing reinforcement profile is a metal or a non-metallic material such as a fiber-reinforced plastic. The material of the second reinforcing reinforcement profile is advantageously a metal or a non-metallic material such as a fiber-reinforced plastic.
In one advantageous embodiment, a length of the first additional reinforcement profile and a length of the second additional reinforcement profile extend over a length which corresponds approximately to the mean width of the respective A-pillar which is configured above it.
By way of the measures according to the invention, energy is dissipated and deformation of the passenger cell is prevented.
In the following text, one embodiment of the invention is described by way of example using the drawings, in which:
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of one or more preferred embodiments when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.